Out on Grant Avenue, it was storming, but inside the new Valentino boutique in San Francisco, it was as bright and vibrant as a Rio de Janeiro day, thanks to the company’s top PR man Carlos Souza, who radiated sunny Brazilian charm as he greeted patrons of SFMOMA, whose upcoming “Modern Ball” on April 30 was feted at the luxury boutique’s splashy opening.

As waiters proffered flutes of Prosecco and trays laden with quarter-sized mini quiches (fewer calories, no dripping second bites to ruin a $2,000 dress), hundreds guests toured the four-story jewel box — designed by creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli and architect David Chipperfield to feel like a historic palazzo-minimalist mashup.

The company’s support of SFMOMA was a no-brainer, Souza said. “Art and fashion are natural partners, especially contemporary art,” he said, before being whisked away to a private dinner at the Battery social club, where SFUnzipped hears that all involved had a lovely evening. The media was not invited.